2018 Italian GP : Drivers of the Day

The Italian Grand Prix was a masterclass in how to control a race with Vaino Kimminen once again showing just how good he is as he took the lead of the drivers championship for the first time this season, but the race also indicated that the championship may not necessarily be contested by just two drivers. Of the 22 drivers, who was incredible in Italy?

5. Alessandro Farina

After two races with no points, Farina needed a good race to get himself back into the groove, but it very nearly ended in yet another calamity on the first lap when an overtaking attempt on polesitter Sebastian Vettel into Ascari went haywire. Both drivers flew off the circuit at tremendous speed but both somehow managed to stay in the top three. The incident did open the door for Kimminen to take a lead he wouldn’t lose, but Farina stayed in 2nd for most of the race before Fernando Alonso overtook him on lap 40 after the Italian hesitated behind Mason Taylor.

4. Charles Leclerc

By all intents and purposes, Leclerc had a fairly quiet race, as did much of the top eight, but the Monegasque needed a decent performance after a bizarre incident with Mason Taylor put him out of the Belgian Grand Prix. Having started 6th, he took advantage of Daniel Ricciardo’s poor start to move up to 5th before making light work of Vettel at the start of lap 6. He then got stuck in Kevin Magnussen’s dirty air and eventually lost a place to Alonso on lap 16 before eventually getting ahead of Magnussen when the FJR’s gearbox broke. From then, it was a lonely drive to a solid 4th.

3. Max Verstappen

Having performed well at Spa, Willows Racing were looking for more points with Max Verstappen qualifying well and showing some decent pace during warm-up. He gained one place at the start and then steadily continued his progress by overtaking Tomas Gonzalez on lap 3 and then George Russell on the following lap, both times into Ascari. He moved into the points on lap 23 after Magnussen’s retirement and then took advantage of Catharina Caracciola and James Clark delaying each other to the point where Verstappen overtook Clark, once again into Ascari. Although the Dutchman would lose 7th to Clark during the final stages, he held on for his first point since Mugello.

2. Vaino Kimminen

Things seem to be falling into place for the reigning champion at the moment, but you can’t say he has just been lucky, he has had the car to fight for wins as well. At Monza, he had the car dialled in with his first front row start since his pole position at Melbourne and took the lead after Vettel and Farina’s bolshie incident on the first lap. From there, Kimminen’s only challenge was keeping his concentration, which never faltered as the Finn went on to win and take the lead in the championship for the first time this season.

1. Fernando Alonso

It had been a difficult spell for Alonso of late with no podium finishes since his win at Montreal, and Shake ‘n’ Bake were considering packing the season in and shifting focus onto 2019, but Alonso’s performance at Monza may delay those plans. Having started 11th, Alonso’s rise to the podium place started off with a daring double overtake on the brakes for 7th into Roggia on lap 3 with Clark and Russell being his victims. Caracciola was next on his list on lap 5 followed by Vettel on lap 8, Leclerc on lap 16 and Magnussen on lap 22 to run 3rd. He kept Farina honest before catching him out on lap 40 to finish 2nd and keep his championship hopes alive.

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